Torture
by SenseofDecay
Summary: Unbeknownst to Cloud, Sephiroth is still alive, but terribly weakened in the Northern Crater. He's lost so much at the hands of the blonde one, and is out for revenge...hinted CloudXTifa, sorry!
1. Battle

_**Disclaimer: Mmkay, I don't own FFVII, or any of the characters (unfortunately...but can I borrow Sephy? xDD).**_

**_Just a random idea for a story that I got the other day and thought 'hoshit, gotta write that up XD'...as you do. Have rated this a 'T', just to be on the safe side. Anyway, enjoy, and please review _**

The two stood facing each other, poised for battle, their swords pointing towards the other. The taller of the two was shirtless. His muscles rippled in the semi light as he tensed, staring at the younger, blue eyed blonde before him. The blade of his sword was so long, that the very tip nearly touched the blonde, even though there was ten feet between them.

'Are you just going to stand there, Strife, or are you going to hit me?' taunted the taller man.

'Why, do you want me to?' Strife replied.

'I could catch you off guard and kill you within seconds,' the other man smirked.

Strife bared his teeth, one word uttered, barely more than a snarl.

'_Sephiroth_.'

A gust of wind swept up around Cloud Strife, as he raised his sword, the point facing upwards, as a fireball began to grow at the tip. It enlarged rapidly, rays of light shining out in all directions, but then shrank to nothingness, as the circulating gust simultaneously died down.

Before Sephiroth had a chance to react, Cloud had launched himself, swinging wildly with his powerful sword, each frantic swipe catching Sephiroth across the chest. He found himself being knocked back a step with every successful blow.

Cloud momentarily stopped the endless onslaught, and jumped high up into the sky, arms reaching as far back as they could, as another bright sphere started to expand, the rays of light jumping out bright than before, illuminating much more of Cloud and Sephiroth's dark, murky surroundings, before finally dropping, striking Sephiroth with an amazing blow across the face, down the chest, the sword crashing into the ground hard from the force of the momentum. Sephiroth found that he was nearly bowled off his feet from the power of the hit.

He sagged, wounded critically, only just managing to keep himself from collapsing to his knees. He only just managed to raise his head to stare at the one who had almost killed him. Cloud was standing a safe distance away, but close enough to sneak in another swift jab, should it be necessary.

Something wet, and thick trickled down Sephiroth's forehead. He raised a hand to it, and realised that he was bleeding.

Cloud turned his attention away from Sephiroth, to the Lifestream, particles of which had started floating before him. He stared around in a trance, gaping up, and held out a hand. If he concentrated hard enough, he thought that he could make out what looked like another hand, reaching out of nothingness, to grasp onto his own.

He interlocked his fingers with the fingers of the mystery hand, and was pulled out of the way of the Lifestream. He made one last glance back, to notice that Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen.


	2. Mother, Is That You?

**_AN: K, like before, I don't own FFVII, nor the characters yadda yadda yadda, and big thankies to Le Pecore Nere for reviewing and to everyone else who read chapter one (but if I could have a few more reviews please, then that'd be great, just so I know if you're all enjoying the fic, and if there's anything I need to improve on, etc) xD  
I would've uploaded this chapter earlier, but didn't seem to like me uploading documents rolls eyes_**

**_Enjoy!_**

Sephiroth opened his eyes, and blinked a couple of times. Everything appeared so blurry; it was impossible to make anything out. Where was he? What had happened? Had he been _unconscious_? He was surprised at himself. How long had he been…out? Questions buzzed around his head, but no answer sprang back to him.

He blinked several more times, as objects began to come back into focus. There was something standing in front of him. It was ghost like; a pale blue, which was reminiscent of Shiva, and translucent, but when the blurring hindering Sephiroth's vision had left, he could see that it was quite clearly feminine, like the wandering spirit of a young woman.

She held a pale hand out, and rested it upon his forehead.

'_Sephiroth_…' she whispered, her voice barely audible.

'M – M…' Sephiroth tried to respond.

The woman placed a finger across his lips.

'_Shhh…try not to speak. Allow yourself to recover first. You've suffered some nasty blows_,' the barely there woman replied.

'…Mother?' Sephiroth asked, in spite of what he had just been told.

'_Yes Sephiroth, it's Mother_.'

She sat down by him, resting his head on her unearthly knee, one hand on his brow. She could feel him begin to slip back into the abyss of slumber once more, and when he did, Jenova dissipated. His head, which had still been resting on her, crashed onto the ground painfully, startling him away.

He sat up and looked around, rubbing the area where he struck the cold ground.

'Mother?' he called out, voice raised, wondering where Jenova had gone.

She had left him. His mother had disappeared, leaving him alone, and weak. He managed to pull his battered body upright, searching for his Masamune. When he picked it up, he stumbled unsteadily under the weight, as though he had not hefted it for some time.

He got used to the weight of the long blade again, and made his way to where he vaguely remembered discarding his long leather coat, and shrugged it back on.

Eventually, he came to where AVALANCHE had fought against his mother for the last time. There was something large lying on the ground, deadly still. He knelt down beside it, and saw that it was the Jenova-SYNTHESIS, limp, lifeless. He picked up one of SYNTHESIS's tentacles, and allowed it to drop back down. Her eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful.

'Mother,' he whispered, giving the SYNTHESIS a gentle shake.

No response.

Sephiroth laid her back down, gritting his teeth, feeling anger flood his body. He stood up again, fists clenched; shoulders hunched, and threw his head upwards, screaming a deafening, agonised, tortured roar. He stamped his foot on the stone underfoot, and plucked up the Masamune again, driving it into the ground in his rage.

'_Cloud Strife_!' he screamed.

There and then he swore to himself that he would get revenge on the blonde one for slaughtering his mother, for just leaving her.

Another rush of Spirit Energy washed over Sephiroth, as when Cloud managed to escape, and, like Strife, Sephiroth allowed it to carry him up, until he was able to reach the surface of the Northern Crater, and escape.

It was two years later, when Sephiroth, because of his weakened state, was able to reach civilisation, and even then, his only companions were the workaholic excavators of Bone Village.

When he reached the small village, his body gave up, having taken too much punishment. He collapsed, crying out as his torso struck the soft ground. A nearby excavator beckoned over his companion, and crept closer to the semi conscious silver haired man. They rolled him over onto his back, so that they could get a decent look at his face, and were disturbed by the evil that blatantly shone in his heavy lidded, half closed eyes.

'Who d'you think he is?' asked one, his voice coming out in a low whispered.

'I dunno…he looks familiar though,' replied his companion, in an equally low voice. His eyes widened, bulging, as he realised. 'Oh my God…_Sephiroth_?'

'…_The_ Sephiroth?'

'I think so…'


	3. Happy Families

_**AN: Major apologise for the lateness of this chapter. Writer's block and personal problems. Then, when I got some motivation, the internet decided it wanted to go ker-splat on me, lol. But I've got this chapter sorted out at last, so I can only hope that it's worth the wait!**_

'Cloud, are you in there?' Tifa hammered on the bedroom door, and opened it, where she saw Cloud Strife sitting on the double bed, staring into outer space. She bent down in front of him, and waved one hand before his eyes, bringing him back to reality. 'Are you okay?'

'…Yeah, I guess I'm fine,' he replied.

Tifa knew only too well what that meant. He still missed Aeris, ever since she had been snatched cruelly away by Sephiroth. Tifa had been there when he was in a black pit of grief, helped him to see the light, to see that all hope was _not_ lost, but she knew that his thoughts still occasionally wandered back to her.

Her helping him through his pain had brought them closer together. Almost two years ago, Cloud had realised that he had fallen for Tifa, and she had given birth to a pair of baby girls, both with identical tufts of brown hair, and brilliant neon blue eyes. The girls shared characteristics of both parents; they had Cloud's strong chin, but Tifa's petite nose. She also noticed that they liked to explore. She had lost count of the amount of times either herself or Cloud had to pull them away from whatever they were about to touch before they injured themselves. Looking after Jandi and Teaka was taxing at times, but neither Cloud nor Tifa would change parenthood for anything.

* * *

Sephiroth, fully recovered from his battle against Cloud, and the rest of AVALANCHE, swept into Mideel, after leaving Bone Village. He was hardly surprised to see that Cloud was not there. He was haunted by the image of the lifeless Jenova-SYNTHESIS, the picture preserved in his mind. He saw it every time he closed his eyes. He could only imagine what Strife had done to her. Every time he allowed his mind to ponder about the battle, he felt his anger intensifying greatly.

He stepped into Mideel, which was still hardly anything more than a giant pool of gathered Lifestream. A few people lingered, trying to rebuild the ruined village, but none of them was the one whom he searched.

Sephiroth turned away, flowing silver hair blowing gently in the breeze.

Months past, before he reached his next destination. Another small village, where he knew Cloud had set foot in before, where one of his colleagues was from. A rocket stood tall, slanted, once the village's pride, now hardly anything more than a tourist attraction. He stood near one of the houses, just watching everybody, ignoring the occasional curious stare that he got.

'Can I help you?' asked a villager suddenly, having watched Sephiroth glare at everybody around. 'Are you looking for somebody?'

Sephiroth hesitated. The temptation to strike with his Masamune was growing. But no. He had to resist. He did _not_ want to alert Cloud to his presence too early. He turned back and swept away, leaving the villager staring at Sephiroth's back.

'Manners cost nothing!' the villager called after the retreating ex-General, a frown forming on her face.

* * *

The following morning, Shera, still living in Rocket Town, was peering absentmindedly out of the window, lost in thought. She saw someone she failed to recognise stalking through the bustling people. The man looked directly at her, his piercing green eyes glaring evilly at her.

A strange sensation of fear shot through her, causing her to duck down, and out of sight. She clasped a hand to her chest, breathing heavily, feeling more scared than she had for a long time. But she was also confused; who was this man? And why had his stare made her feel so intimidated?

'The hell's up with you?' Cid snapped, coming out of his bedroom, and seeing Shera hunched under a window.

'Just...just someone I saw outside. He was...weird,' Shera replied, struggling to find the right words.

Cid peered out of the window, and only just caught sight of Sephiroth's retreating back.

'No...' Cid whispered. 'It can't be...'

* * *

Weary of all his travelling, Sephiroth finally came to another stop. He had lost count of how long he had been trying to track down Cloud, and secretly, was ready to give up, but then the sight of the JENOVA-Specimen flashed up in his mind, and the anger, the hatred came screaming back.

He stopped. He saw the street in which Rufus Shinra paraded down, when he was made President of Shinra.

Sephiroth stalked through Junon, staying in the shadows, the keeping the blade of his Masamune out of sight, so it would not catch the light, and give off a tell tale glint. He rested, leaning a shoulder against the wall, still bathed in shadows. His senses failed him, and he did not detect the villager coming up behind him.

'Are you okay -?'

He did not get a chance to finish his sentence, as Sephiroth acted on pure instinct, spinning around, lashing out with the Masamune. There was a small noise as the man's throat was slit as the blade penetrated the skin, a trickle of blood, and a heavy _thump_ as the body crashed onto the ground.

A noise. Sephiroth jerked his head back, thinking that he had been seen, that somebody had witnessed his act of cold blooded murder. When he noticed a few lights flicker on, and heard soft voices in the distant, he fled, running clear out of Junon. If Cloud _was_ there, he would find out soon…

* * *

Tifa stared out of the window, at the dreary, overcast sky, and listened as the heavy rain pounded the ground, splashing the rapidly forming puddles.

'So much for being warm and sunny today,' she remarked, turning back to Cloud.

He was trying to fend off the twins, who were pretending to wrestle with him. The living room sang with laughter, which brought a smile to Tifa's face better than the misinformed weather man did.

Teaka poked Cloud in the face, and shrieked with laughter as Cloud tickled her, while Jandi decided to try and pull his socks off.

'Help, Tifa! I'm being attacked by two toddlers!' Cloud called.

'Why should I help you?' she grinned, watching the three playing. 'If anything, I should be helping the twins. Us girls have got to stick together, right?'

'You evil –' Cloud started, and got cut off as Jandi handed Teaka one of his socks, who then stuffed it in his face. 'Bleugh!'

'Smell nice?' Tifa asked.

Cloud pulled his other sock off before Jandi could get to it, and threw it at Tifa. She could see that the twins were getting sleepy, and placed them in their cots, before slumping down on the sofa with Cloud. The pair idly stared out into space, and chatted, as the hours drifted past. They both got up several times to tend to the twins when they woke up, and before either of them knew it, it was getting late.

'Shh, shh, it's okay,' Tifa soothed, as Jandi continued to shriek.

Tifa walked out of the twins' bedroom, so that Teaka would not be disturbed by her sister's screaming. She glanced at the clock, and groaned, as she rubbed Jandi's back. It was coming closer to midnight.

'Go to sleep, please,' Tifa begged quietly, yawning.

* * *

The living room clock hit the stroke of midnight, and began to play its dainty little chime. Cloud sighed, and rubbed the side of his face. He could feel stubble starting to grow on his cheeks.

'Are you _sure_ you don't need a hand?' he asked, voice raised, to Tifa.

'I'm sure! Just give me a few more minutes; she'll probably calm down soon,' Tifa called back.

'Hopefully,' Cloud muttered to himself.

There was a slight tapping at the front door. Cloud frowned, wondering if it was something knocking against the door in the wind, or if somebody was standing outside, and knocking.

_Who'd be knocking at this time of night?_ He wondered to himself, getting off the sofa.

When he opened the front door, he froze. The blood coagulated in that split second, freezing the blonde to the spot. His skin turned to a ghostly pale, his breathing rate increased. His knuckles turned white and began to ache dully from the strength in which he was clamping the door. He seemed to lose all power of speech.

Small rain drops splashed on his face, into his eyes, yet he did not blink them out. He was too busy staring, horrified at the apparition before him, which was sodden from head to toe.

The silvery head was raised, the evil green gaze fixated on him.

'Hello Cloud,' smirked Sephiroth.

_**Because the internet's still crapped out, I can only come online when I can get to the library, which will be at the very **__**worst**__**once every fortnight, so bare with me please**_


	4. Oh God, No

**_AN: I know, I know - it's been months since I updated this, and huge apologies to anyone who's given up waiting for my slow ass (next time, feel free to send me a virtual kick in the rear end!). Buuut, the internet problems I had are no more! _**

'It's been a long time,' the silver haired ex-General said softly. 'Too long…'

Still, Cloud said nothing. He did not move so much as an inch; he just kept staring, as though he could not believe his eyes. _How? _He _saw_ Sephiroth bleed with his own eyes. When he was temporarily distracted by the Lifestream, he glanced back and saw that Sephiroth had gone. Vanished completely, as though into thin air.

_So how could he be face to face with him right now?_

Cloud only came to his senses when the malicious smirk set upon Sephiroth's features faded, a grotesque snarl replacing it. He leapt back, as Sephiroth lashed out with the Masamune, but because the blade was so long, he was unable to jump back far enough. The blade raked across Cloud's stomach. A rush of pain tore across his abdomen, as he felt the skin rip, and a trickle of blood flow.

As Sephiroth tried to force his way through the door, Cloud made his way forwards, and tried to close it on him, to shut him out.

_This isn't happening! This isn't real! He's dead!_

One terrified thought after another circled around Cloud's mind, as he pressed himself up against the wood, trying the force Sephiroth out. He nearly got it completely closed, when Sephiroth backed off, and kicked it back open with an almighty _crash_.

The door itself came completely off its hinges, the blonde hurled down to the ground, his head striking the floor. As the pain seared through his skull, only one thought surfaced in Cloud's mind now.

* * *

Tifa sat up with a jolt.

'What the hell's going on?' she muttered to herself, climbing out of bed and slipping on her dressing gown.

But no matter what she thought, nothing could have prepared her for the reality.

Cloud, on the floor, looking paralysed, with _Sephiroth_ hovering over him, Masamune in hand. Without raising his head, Sephiroth glared up at her and raised his blade.

As it started to lower once more, Cloud rolled to the side, and just about managed to get back onto his feet without being struck, as Tifa came flying downstairs, ready and willing to assist him.

'Tifa no, get back! Watch Teaka and Jandi!' he shouted.

His distraction cost him. Sephiroth thrust hard with the Masamune, forcing the blade through his side. Blood poured from the wound, puddling at his feet. Cloud clenched his teeth, eyes screwed up tight, as he tried to resist the urge to scream. He could feel the blade ripping through his internal organs, and wondered if it was going to protrude from out of the other side of him.

Despite her partner's warnings, Tifa ran forward to help Cloud. But when she got near him, Sephiroth lashed out, striking her across the face with his entire fist, knocking her back. She stumbled, almost tripped over from the blow, but just about managed to keep steady.

Cloud stared at her, his face a mask of pain. He opened his mouth to speak, blood and spittle oozing out. His face contorted as Sephiroth slowly withdrew the mighty blade

'The girls…!' he rasped, not wanting to give Sephiroth a chance to get to the twins.

Tifa turned on her heels and ran, as Cloud attempted to strike Sephiroth, before he was impaled again. Sephiroth punched the blonde directly in the throat, causing Cloud to momentarily choke. He held his throat, gasping for air, Sephiroth bowling him over.

The ex-SOLDIER tried to force his way back onto his feet, but Sephiroth held the Masamune over his legs, and stabbed Cloud through the left shin.

Sephiroth grinned evilly as he heard the involuntary cry of pain that he was rewarded with and listened for the _rip_ as the tip of the Masamune sliced through the carpet, after penetrating Cloud's leg.

Cloud reached out and grabbed frantically at Sephiroth's ankle, as the ex-General tried to make his way after Tifa.

Sephiroth spun around rapidly, pulled his ankle back, out of Cloud's grasp and kicked him roughly in the face, directly on the nose, which immediately busted spurts of blood. Cloud was left helpless to watch the silver haired black clad warrior

* * *

.

Tifa looked back when she heard footsteps behind her, and saw Sephiroth. She stood protectively in front of the two cots, staring into Sephiroth's neon green eyes.

'I see you've got a family now. Isn't that nice?'

'Stay away from them,' Tifa warningly told him.

Just to spite her, Sephiroth advanced one step.

'…Or what?'

Tifa punched him in the face, and followed through with a kick to the midriff, before pinning him up against the twins' bedroom wall. A small gurgle from one of the girls' reminded Tifa of where she was. Allowing her children to watch their mother fight against Sephiroth probably was not the brightest of ideas, but she knew she dare not risk leaving them alone.

* * *

Cloud was still flat on his back, the Masamune through his leg pinning him to the ground. Excruciating, almost paralysing pain shot through to his core with every slight movement. In spite of this, he forced himself to sit up, and reached for the blade.

He heard a dull thud, followed by the sound of a body striking the floor. Tifa crawled backwards into the room, Sephiroth in front of her. She kicked up, hitting Sephiroth's knee, a move which had very little effect. She managed to scramble her way back onto her feet, ran over and pulled the Masamune out of Cloud's leg, ignoring his scream.

Sephiroth cackled, watching Cloud beadily. He flew at Tifa, his fist whipping around her face, and before she had the chance to recover from her shock, snatched the Masamune from her slack grasp, and sliced the blade across Cloud's chest.

The blonde forced himself back onto his feet, as Sephiroth lunged again. Tifa reached out and held Sephiroth's arm, to try and prevent the Masamune from tearing through flesh once more.

But instead of stabbing Cloud like he had initially planned, Sephiroth pulled his arm out in front of him, dragging Tifa along, pushed her back, kicked Cloud away, and slit Tifa's throat.

Cloud screamed as he saw the blood draining from Tifa's jugular vein, her skin already paling, her front saturated with the precious crimson liquid.

He tried to catch her, hold her in his arms as her body began to fall to the floor, sagging at the knees, but Sephiroth held her to him, away from Strife, before tossing her down, like a spoilt child's unwanted rag doll.

So numbed with shock was Cloud that he even failed to wince as Tifa's head loudly.

Nothing was important to Cloud anymore, not even Sephiroth. He forgot about the silver haired murderer, and felt like there was nothing else in the world, other than himself and Tifa. He struggled over to her, collapsed when he reached her, pulled her still warm body to him, cradling her, wishing that she was only asleep, and that his embrace would awaken her.

_Please, wake up. Wake up, and we can carry on with our lives as normal, pretend none of this ever happened. __**Please**__, I need you…_

A long, shuddering gasp burst from Cloud's lips as he fought against his tears, the numbed feeling wearing off, raw pain replacing it. He bit his lip, trying to steady himself, trying not to let on how devastated he was, as Sephiroth slipped silently out of the room.

'Don't leave me, Tifa, don't go. Stay with me, I can't lose you as well,' he almost inaudibly wept.

* * *

Flames flickered, growing stronger as the seconds passed. Sephiroth stepped back away from the enlarging fire, the cruel smirk in place once more.

* * *

Cloud was unaware of the inferno that was spreading through the house until he was almost choking from the smoke. Only then did he dare to open his eyes, to breathe, and felt terror clutch tightly at his heart.

Sephiroth swept back into the room, and smashed his fist into Cloud's chin, nearly knocking him onto his back again. Sephiroth picked up Tifa's body by her clothes, and hurled her to one side, before bending back down, wrapping his fingers around Cloud's throat, and lifting him up above his own head.

'Remember the fire, Cloud?' Sephiroth taunted. 'Remember Nibelheim? The flames, the heat, the charred bodies…I can remember it like it was yesterday. What about you?'

'Please…don't do this…' Cloud murmured. He could feel his throat throbbing; it hurt to breathe, let alone speak.

The ex-SOLDIER closed his eyes, tried to stop himself from going back to that time in his mind, but found that clenching his eyes tightly only made the images come back to him clearer and sharper than before, until it seemed as though he had been transported back to that very day. It felt as though he had just come running out of the Shinra Mansion, to see that his beloved hometown was in ruins, aflame, like a giant torch.

'_Sephiroth, this is terrible…this is…too terrible…_'

'I see you _do_ remember,' Sephiroth grinned. '_Good_. What did you do, when you saw the fire? How did you fee? Who did you see? I know you saw your little _friend_ -' he glanced at Tifa disdainfully. '- who got in the way. She should have known better not to stand in my way. She nearly died that day, didn't she? She dared to touch my Masamune, grasp at it with her grubby hands, dirty the blade, and I nearly killed her.' He watched Cloud's eyes fill up. 'The silly girl should have known not to face me today, that blocking my path wasn't a bright idea. Your wretched town did so, shielded me from my mother. Didn't work, did it?'

Sephiroth tightened his grasp on Cloud's throat, enjoying listening to the sound of the blonde choking.

'You failed her, as you failed that other friend of yours, that boy, Zack. They both came after me, but weren't strong enough to defeat me, and had to rely on you. That poor pair, having to rely on a nothing, a nobody, like you. _A puppet_.

'She wasn't the first love of yours who died at my hands, was she?' Sephiroth said suddenly, changing tact. 'There was that other girl. What was her name? Aeris Gainsborough, wasn't it? Pretty young thing. But alas, she made the same mistake. She stood in my way, tried to stop me. It's a shame I had to dispose of her; I quite liked her.'

The mention of Cloud's name turned his dismay and anguish to sheer rage, ready to boil over with the slightest provocation. The cold grin grew wider, as he brought Cloud's ear to his lips, and whispered two words.

'_Body guard_.'

'_You son of a bitch_!' screeched Cloud, kicking Sephiroth in the stomach, taking him by surprise, causing Sephiroth to drop him.

Cloud came back to his senses, remembered that the twins were still in the house, and tore through to the back room, where the toddlers were both coughing and spluttering from the smoke. He lifted them out of their cots, praying that he had not left it too late, and charged out of the front door, ignoring the sounds of Sephiroth laughing sinisterly, almost insanely.

The door collapsed in, blocking his exit.

'How are you going to get your children and yourself safely out of here now?' Sephiroth called, mocking Cloud's frantic attempts to pull the flaming wreckage away.

He heard thumping from outside, and opened the window which had not yet been touched by the fire.

'What the hell's going on in there?' screamed a neighbour.

'I'll explain later,' Cloud shouted back, 'just take the kids!'

Cloud carefully passed Teaka and Jandi through the window, but Sephiroth grabbed at him before he could try and climb through himself.

'Come on Cloud, you too! And Tifa!' the neighbour called.

The blonde elbowed Sephiroth in the stomach, stamped on his foot, and practically threw himself through the window. He grabbed the twins, pulled them back to a safe distance, and turned just in time to see the house strain and collapse into a pile of flaming rubble.

The neighbour, realising that Tifa was not with them, consolingly rested a hand on Cloud's shoulder.

'I'm…I'm so sorry.'

'She was already dead.'

Cloud pulled away from the neighbour, and gathered his girls up into his arms.


End file.
